Nursery Assistant

Acorn Early Years Foundation; Olney; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 23,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Payscales transparent

65% childcare discount

Generous family leave

Training days

Job summary

Acorn Early Years Foundation is hiring a Nursery Assistant at Emberton Nursery, near Olney. The role is full-time (40 hours, Monday–Friday) in a nurturing, child-centred environment that supports holistic early years care.

You will work with a team to provide high-quality, responsive care and learning experiences across indoor and outdoor settings, promoting development and wellbeing for babies to pre-school children.

Qualifications

• No formal qualification is required for this role; training and development will be supported.
• Right to work in the UK is required.
• Two satisfactory references are required.
• Enhanced DBS check prior to commencing employment.

Responsibilities

• Support children’s care, wellbeing and individual needs.
• Deliver positive, high-quality interactions based on children’s development stages.
• Promote positive behaviour in line with Acorn policies and procedures.
• Support rich learning experiences indoors and outdoors.
• Encourage children’s independence, confidence and physical development.
• Support planning in the moment.
• Carry out regular observations in line with Acorn guidance.
• Maintain records such as care plans, All About Me forms, medication forms and progress reviews.
• Understand and support the key person approach.
• Work flexibly as part of a team; adapt responsibilities as required.
• Cascade relevant information to colleagues and management.
• Safeguard all children at all times.

Job description

Full-time - Monday - Friday
Emberton Nursery

We are looking for a Nursery Assistant to join our dedicated team at Emberton Nursery. This is a great opportunity for someone who is passionate about working with children and supporting high-quality early years care in a nurturing, child‑centred environment.

This is a full time position, 40 hours per week.

About Emberton Nursery

We are located in what was the old school in the lovely village of Emberton, near Olney. We have adapted the building to younger children and added our Acorn touch, whilst retaining the character of the original architecture. We have developed the expansive outside area into an outdoor learning centre, which we offer a nature kindergarten during term-time for 3-4 year olds, and an outdoor playscheme in school holidays, for school aged children.

In the nursery, we offer full and part-time care for up to 37 places for babies, toddlers and pre-school children, and are open from 7.30am to 6.15pm, Monday to Friday, all year round.

In addition to the nursery, the outdoor learning centre offers a 24 place outdoor holiday club for children aged 4-13, alongside other outdoor sessions for the local community including our 16 place Nature Kindergarten. Over the next couple of years we aim to plant over 500 trees and shrubs, build several outdoor shelters and other wooden structures and sculptures, develop an orchard and allotment area, and develop a range of other outdoor provisions that will enhance the activities and sessions on offer.

About the Role

As a Nursery Assistant, you will support a holistic approach to the curriculum, helping to ensure the wellbeing, development and learning of all children in your care. You will work as part of a team to support the smooth day‑to‑day running of the nursery.

Key Responsibilities

• Support children’s care, wellbeing and individual needs
• Deliver positive, high-quality interactions based on children’s stages of development
• Promote positive behaviour in line with Acorn’s policies and procedures
• Support rich learning experiences indoors and outdoors
• Encourage children’s independence, confidence and physical development
• Support planning in the moment
• Carry out regular observations in line with Acorn guidance
• Assist with maintaining records such as care plans, “All About Me” forms, medication forms and progress reviews (where appropriate)
• Understand and support the key person approach
• Work flexibly as part of a team, adapting responsibilities as required
• Cascade relevant information to colleagues and management
• Safeguard all children at all times

What We’re Looking For

We welcome applications from candidates who:

• Share Acorn’s values and ethos
• Have an interest in early years and child development
• Are caring, enthusiastic and reliable
• Value parents as partners
• Communicate effectively with children, families and colleagues
• Are keen to learn, develop and progress within early years

(No formal qualification is required for this role, as training and development will be supported.)

Equality, Diversity & Safer Recruitment

At Acorn, we are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment where everyone feels they belong. We value diversity and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Reasonable adjustments will be considered during the recruitment process.

Successful applicants must:

• Have the right to work in the UK
• Provide two satisfactory references
• Complete an Enhanced DBS check prior to commencing employment

As a thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to making Acorn a safe, nurturing and fun place for our children to be, we offer:

• Payscales that are competitive, transparent and reviewed annually
• 65% Childcare discount - Pro Rata according to contracted hours
• Generous family leave
• Christmas closure
• 25 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays (and the option to buy more)
• 4 dedicated training days and individual development plans